Ground broken for new jail

DeAnn Komanecky/Effingham Now Effingham County Commissioners, Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie and Terry Gossett of general contractor Rives E. Worrell of Savannah, and Robert Armstrong with architects for the project, Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung of Savannah, join the ground breaking for Effingham County's new jail on Tuesday.

Ground was broken Tuesday for the new Effingham County jail, which will be a combination of new construction and renovation of existing space.

County Commission Chairman Wendall Kesslar and Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie both said Tuesday building a new jail isn’t the type of project we want, but the condition of the current building and overcrowding make it necessary.

“We hope it’s the last time we have to expand these walls,” Kesslar said.

McDuffie said overcrowding at the jail costs Effingham taxpayers about $216,000 per year.

Currently, the jail has 130 beds and the county sends its overflow of inmates to other counties, including Screven, Liberty, Bryan and Jefferson, at a cost of about $25 a day.

The 328-bed facility will be paid for with $15.5 million in sales tax money.

Plans include a new building that will have more than 50,000 square feet and will house 200 inmates in a combination of single-, double- and quadruple-occupancy cells.

When the work is done, in 18 to 22 months, six housing blocks will classify and segregate inmate populations.

The new facility also will have a medical suite, intake and booking area, secure entrance for inmates and a library access area. All jail staff and administration will be based in the new facility.

“The building is designed to minimize the movement of inmates, so classification, medical surveys and inmate property are in close location to the intake and booking area,” said Adam Kobek, director of community relations for the county.

The new facility will have video visitation, which reduces the possibility of contraband transfer and limits the movement of inmates. Video arraignment is planned to provide less transportation to and from the judicial complex.

The new facility will be connected by hallway to the existing prison. The prison and the jail will use the same kitchen and laundry facilities, which will be renovated and made bigger.

Two dorms of the existing prison will be used for minimum-security inmates in dormitory living, and any alternatively sentenced individuals, such as those on work-release or weekend sentences.

Final design of the sheriff’s office has not yet been completed.

Concrete tilt wall panels will be used, along with precast concrete cells.

The general contractor is Rives E. Worrell of Savannah. Architects and engineers are Hussey, Gay, Bell & DeYoung of Savannah and Rosser International of Atlanta and Savannah.

The jail and sheriff’s office has had structural problems almost since it opened in 1993. It was built in a hurry as part of a settlement of a federal lawsuit over overcrowding at the old jail, which is now a museum.

Leaks in the jail have lead to many problems, including deteriorations of walls, rusting windows, electrical lock failures and other structural damage.

The ceiling was weakened from water damage, allowing an inmate to escape by kicking a hole in the ceiling.